If you are looking to buy or even lease property and you need help with the move to Portugal, whether you are buying an apartment or a villa as a holiday home in the Algarve or are completely relocating Portuguese Legal can assist you in many ways.

Everyday simple things you take for granted in your home country can be several times complicated in another. It can be useful to have help when obtaining estimates to have your requirements explained in Portuguese or have the small print on a quote clearly explained to you.

Apart from dealing with builders and other tradesmen, help is often required with form filling or understanding insurance documents and quotes as well as with utilities companies. We can help simplify enquiries about gas, electricity, water and telephone services or just provide an explanation or translation of a bill.

Before you come to even think about these things you need to be 100% confident about your purchase – your new home in Portugal. Before you sign anything, be sure you understand what is written and then if you have any doubts, speak to your agent (with the help of an interpreter, if required).

The deed (escritura) and the promissory contract (contrato de promessa de compra e venda) are the documents you will be asked to sign in purchasing any property in Portugal.The promissory contract is the document you will sign once you have asked all the necessary questions concerning the taxes payable on your property (IMI and IMT), the yearly condominium charge (if you are buying an apartment within a condominium), all the legal and bank charges involved in making your purchase and arranging your Portuguese mortgage.

A reputable estate agent, such as a national or internationally known estate agency, will provide you with all of this information and be happy to answer any questions you may have. However, all legal documents must be drafted in the Portuguese language to be legally binding in Portugal, therefore if you decide to have a translation made of your deed (escritura) or promissory contract (contrato de promessa de compra e venda) you must be sure it is done by someone who is qualified and competent to do so.

The signing of the deed (escritura) is as good as equivalent to “completion” in the UK. This will be read by the solicitor or notary in Portuguese and the buyer must confirm that he or she has understood the contents thereof. The solicitor or notary must be satisfied that such buyer has understood. If you have any doubts about what has been explained or translated for you prior to this you may want to consider having an interpreter present when you go to sign the escritura.

It is important to be fully aware of what is to be included in these documents particularly in the case of new properties eg, is the purchase price the same as the value to be entered on the deed? In the case of newly constructed properties some builders may wish to enter the purchase value as lower than the actual purchase price (up to €20k) which will save you and the construction company money on your tax bill. But when you come to sell your property remember that you will be taxed on the difference between the officially recorded purchase amount ie what is written on the “escritura” and the amount you sell for.

If you are unsure of the relevance of any figures shown to you, seek clarification. Many estate agents will not explain that you risk losing a large chunk of your profit by paying more tax than you ought to at the time of sale or will simply be unable to explain correctly in English. Be aware.

Portuguese Legal can provide translations of these documents from Portuguese into English with which you will be able to understand the implications. You will then be in a position to speak to the estate agent about this to obtain clarification or present your doubts to a solicitor, if required.

We are also able to accompany you to speak with your agent, bank, builder, vendor, solicitor in Portugal (if not an English speaker), the department of finanças etc etc to ensure you are clear about everything from as early as possible in the process. This could save a lot of time and hassle, let alone money.

We can also provide translations from English into Portuguese and a Portuguese English interpreter service.

If you have any questions or would like to share your experiences, please go to the discussion board. If you would like to obtain a quote for our language services, visit the Free Quote page.

The information here is provided as a guide to encourage you to think about everything but of course not just the pitfalls. Talk about your options or doubts on our discussion board:

Do I buy an apartment or a villa? Inland or coastal? Where is the cheapest property in the Algarve? Can I rent my property easily?